When I first became a vegetarian one of the hardest transitions for me was adjusting to the lack of filling, healthy sandwiches. It seemed like every vegetarian sandwich I tried involved tons of high-fat cheese and a few vegetables. Sure, we veg-heads can always slap a few slices of tofu-rkey between two pieces of bread, add some mustard and lettuce and call it lunch, but for me that is not up to par. I love sandwiches, always have, always will, and so I have done some pretty heavy duty research (and by research I mean watching many, many hours of The Food Network) to find a hearty, heathy, filling vegetarian sandwich. So ladies and gentlemen…eat your hearts out.

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Giada’s Taleggio and Peach Panini

Recipe credit: Giada de Laurentiis, Everyday Italian.

Ingredients:

1 (1-pound) loaf ciabatta bread (or 8 slices country bread)

1/4 cup olive oil

8 ounces Taleggio cheese or brie, sliced

2 large pears, apples or peaches, cored and cut into 1/4-inch wedges

2 tablespoons honey

Pinch salt

Pinch freshly ground black pepper

3 ounces arugula or spinach

Directions

Preheat the panini machine. Cut the ciabatta loaf into 4 equal pieces. Halve each piece horizontally to make 4 sandwiches. Brush the bread on both sides with olive oil and place the bottom-half of the bread slices in the panini machine in a single layer. Heat until golden, about 3 to 4 minutes. Continue with the remaining top slices of bread.

While the top slices of the bread are in the Panini machine, begin building the sandwiches. Divide the cheese among the warm bread. Cover the cheese with slices of fruit. Drizzle the fruit with honey. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top with a handful of arugula. Place the warmed top half of the bread over the arugula and put the competed sandwich back into the panini machine for 1 to 2 minutes more to finish melting the cheese. Remove from the panini machine. Cut the sandwiches in half and serve immediately.

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Is your mouth watering yet? Cause mine is. This sandwich is like heaven on bread. The tangy, fruity flavor of the Taleggio is brought to life by the sweet, bright flavor of the peaches. The olive oil and grilled flavor of the ciabatta add a deep savory flavor that is perfectly balanced by the sweetness of the honey, while the spiciness of the arugula adds a clean, bold flavor that lightens this puppy up. Perfection.

Not only is this a savory, sweet, simple sammy that is perfect for any summer day (or night), it is ridiculously easy to make. All in all it takes less than ten minutes and it’s worth every second.

Rich, creamy, silky and bursting with flavor. Piping hot with the oh-so-coveted flavors of portobello mushrooms and gorgonzola cheese brought to life with just the slightest hint of nutmeg. It. Was. Perfect. The best meal I have ever had, the be-all, end-all, the risotto of a lifetime. But sadly I can’t pass this experience on to any of you, can’t point you in the right direction because the restaurant had such insufficient PR that the restaurant wasn’t even named. Nothing but a blank, broken sign above a rickety door. To be honest when I went into the restaurant I was fully anticipating to be very, VERY sick when I left. So I ordered the only vegetarian item on the menu and the rest is history. Anyways, the point of my story is that this amazing teeny-tiny little restaurant could be an amazingly successful full blown 5-starer, if only for a little public relations intervention.

Let us do a little exercise in word (or acronym) association… PETA. I’d be willing to bet that most of you conjured up the images of paint-soaked fur coats, veggie burgers, and screaming, dread-locked extremists. But I am not here to discuss the hassle of getting acrylic paint out of a mink, or debate my opinions about PETA’s latest antics, I simply wish to inform my reader (yes, singular) about the creative ways PETA has used PR to promote vegetarianism and ethical treatment of animals. To do this I have selected three public relations/ advertising campaigns that PETA has introduced over the last few years.

Racy? Yes. Original? Very. Memorable? 100% This campaign was designed as almost an incentive to convince people to support the ethical treatment of animals by going vegetarian.

Number 2. Theme: Humor. Medium: Viral video Year: 2008

Offensive? Slightly. Effective? Yes. Funny? Absolutely. This video does not relate to vegetarianism, obviously. But it does send a good message about the inhumane and unethical treatment of dogs and how animals are abused and neglected because of their “impurity.”

Number 3. Theme: Celebrity Endorsement. Medium: Still Photo. Year 2009

Unique? Yes. Memorable? Yes. Effective? Not so much. This is just one of many photos from a campaign entitled “I’d rather go naked than wear fur.” The purpose of this campaign was to raise awareness to the number of celebrities who choose to live a vegetarian lifestyle, in hopes of inspiring celeb-wanna be’s to do the same.

While PETA is the most widely recognized animal rights organization and a rule-breaking, hard-hitting force to be reckoned with, they are also a professional organization with brilliant PR and advertising campaigns that will stand the test of time and maybe even convert one or two people to go veg.

Against our better judgement and fully aware of the consequences, we have all done it. The culprit can vary, a bean and cheese burrito, a quesadilla, or even the dreaded crunch wrap supreme. But the result is always the same… satisfaction, followed shortly by regret and then a case of rip-roaring heartburn. Yes, I am talking about the most successful mexican food drive-thru in the nation, the king of fourth meal, and the roadtriper’s dreamboat… Taco Bell. However, it seems that the restaurant has followed its own advice and is now thinking outside the box (or bun); it has taken the leap of faith and gotten on the heath food bandwagon. Taco Bell recently introduced the “fresco menu” boasting seven items, all with less than nine grams of fat. In my humble opinion, this is nothing short of a stroke of public relations genius. Do I think that eating Taco Bell will make American’s healthy? NO. However, by offering a healthier choice at a infamously unhealthy fast-food joint, Taco Bell has opened the door for a slightly less guilt-inducing option when nothing but the drive-thru will do. It is with a hopeful heart and an empty stomach that I fully embrace the PR behind the newest addition the the T-Bell menu.

For as long as I can remember I have been passionate about animals, animal behavior and more than anything, animal rights. Over the past few years I have developed an appreciation and understanding for environmental preservation. My latest passion is the practice of public relations. So it from the fusion of these passions that this blog was born. The central focus of this blog is how PR is used to promote healthy eating and living habits.